Corey Perry, the newest Edmonton Oiler, made an immediate impression on the Nashville Predators on January 27 in his debut game. On his second shift, he surged towards the Predators’ net and hacked at the puck, creating a commotion and drawing his younger Oilers teammates into the melee almost instantly. He was on a line with speedsters Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway.
Perry, a previous Hart Trophy winner, is well known for his cunning and employs pest-like strategies to sabotage the opposition. When his teammate Holloway was asked if he was ready for some after-whistle activity prior to his Predators debut, he responded with a joke, “Yeah, I’m down for it.” Holloway is an outstanding agitator. I’ll go in there as long as he’s taking the bigger guy since it will be entertaining.
In that regard, it remains to be seen if Perry will be back next season, but if his tenure in Edmonton is only limited to this season, his agitating antics may influence and leave a lasting impression on his teammates, particularly Holloway, who has at times shown a similar ‘in-your-face’, pest-like style of play.
Perry epitomizes the phrase “love to hate him but love to have him on your team,” since he has made a career out of annoying people. Holloway has indicated that he is grateful to the former Hart Trophy winner for his career’s well-timed badgering.
I’ve always been a big fan of him since I was a child. I haven’t played against him too often, so I’m not too familiar with his antics, but I know he has a lot of guys under his skin and is someone you want on your team, not someone you play against.
Having him on the same team as me and playing with him will be a lot of fun because I really enjoy his game and think he was really efficient in the playoffs at taking opponents off
